Retinopathy Praematurorum Still Threatens the Immature Newborns

Overview

Retinopathy praematurorum (RP) is one of the most frequent causes of severe eyesight damage or blindness ofthe child age in advanced countries. The incidence in advanced countries was growing in the eighties in connectionwith increasing survival of extremely immature newborns. A similar trend may be expected to occur in developingcountries and some transforming countries of Europe. In a retrospective analysis the authors evaluated theoccurrence ofRPduring 6-year period in 201 surviving newborns of the birth weight below 1.500 g and 51 newbornswith birth weight below 1.000 g, respectively. The occurrence of RP in newborns of low birth weight reported inliterature is described. New information on the etiopathogenesis of RP is also presented.

Key words:
retinopathy praematurorum, newborn of lower birth weight, incidence of RP, etiopathogenesis of RP